1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to an apparatus for forming relatively large size rectangular bales of fibrous material, such as agricultural crops and industrial products, using a continuous compaction process, requiring substantially less energy than the conventional balers.
2. Description of Prior Art
The most common bale forming machines producing rectangular bales use reciprocating plunger mechanism to compress separate layers of fibrous material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,487, issued to this inventor, discloses a bale forming apparatus which applies a unique mechanism, consisting of; a feeder-compactor assembly, and a bale forming channel assembly. The feeder-compactor rollers of the feeder-compactor assembly receive reversing rotational power drive, causing the feeder-compactor assembly to perform a reversing upward-downward motion at or near the intake port of the bale forming channel. The continuously delivered and compressed layers of the fibrous material are deposited in the bale forming channel in folded arrangement. The finished and tied bales are forced through the bale forming channel, and are discharged at the discharge opening of the bale forming channel.
The co-pending application of this inventor, Ser. No.; 06/067,187, discloses a bale forming apparatus which consists of; a feeder-compactor assembly, and a bale forming chamber. The bale forming chamber is confined by four side walls, one end wall and one open intake port, which also serves as discharge port for the finished bale. Therefore, after the formation of each bale the bale making cycle has to be interrupted to discharge the completed bale through the intake port.